One charged in stabbing
A McCreary County man suffered stab wounds in a Friday afternoon altercation in what the McCreary County Sheriff’s Department is calling a drug related dispute.
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- Photo by Greg Bird Robert Lowe Jr. was stabbed in this White Pine Drive residence Friday afternoon.
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- Photo by Greg Bird Randal Stevens is escorted into the Sheriff’s Department after he was arrested Saturday in relation to a stabbing incident on Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 3:45 Friday afternoon on White Pine Drive off Vanover Ridge Road in northern McCreary County.
Sheriff Randy Waters, Deputy Odell Smith and Constable Dustin Ridner responded to the residence after being notified by McCreary 911 and found the victim, identified as Robert Lowe Jr., suffering from two stab wounds to the back.
The officers were able to speak to the victim before he lost consciousness, and he provided names of his alleged assailant. Lowe told officers five individuals in a maroon Ford Explorer arrived at the residence, and one of them, identified as Randal Stevens, 26, of Stearns, stabbed him and fled in the vehicle.
The officers began an investigation, interviewing several subjects over the course of next two days, attempting to determine exactly what happened, and who was present at the time.
The victim was transported by McCreary County EMS to the North McCreary helipad for airlift to the University of Kentucky Medical Center for treatment. He was released from the hospital Tuesday and was questioned again by Detective David Sampson as part of the continuing investigation.
On Saturday afternoon a citizen at a residence on Loudermilk Road called McCreary 911 to report Stevens was at the residence and officers descended in to the area to search for the suspect.
Stevens, fled into the woods before officers could arrest him, and in the course of his flight, was reportedly shot at by a citizen.
Deputy Milford Creekmore managed to catch up with Stephens on Jim Barnett Road off Sandhill Road around 6:30 p.m. and the suspect was placed into custody, charged with Assault 1st Degree. Stephens was transported to the Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital after complaining of leg pain and was later released into police custody.
Additional charges and arrests are possible as the investigation continues.
Assisting in the case were Constables Dustin Ridner, Donald Daugherty, Deputies Charlie Perry, Kirk Coffey, Milford Creekmore, Kentucky State Police Trooper Shaler Jones and U.S. Forest Service Officer Tim Grooms.
